Be passionate and get results!

Marzec 20th, 2011

Dear BEM Readers,

For those of you who follow sports, today marks the end of an era. The famous polish ski jumper Adam Małysz has oficially ended his career. After years of getting the top spots in competitions worldwide Adam is stepping down from the role of the leadingsportsman in Poland. What can we learn from his „legacy” ? When you are passionate, no matter how hard it gets, you will succeed. Looking at the big pictureof Adam's career, he had his ups and downs. That got him to a place of tremendous pressure. The fans confronted him with very high expectations towards his performance, it was a „win and take it all” attitude. However, once Małysz did not get to the podium, some of the fans turned their backs on him. Despite difficult and uncertain seasons, when he did not get up to speed with his rivals, Adam did not take long to regain his position as a top professional in the demanding ski jumping discipline. Ok, but he is a sports man, how does it relate to me or business, you might ask?

It does not matter if you are in a different field, perseverance and stubborness in realising one's passions are the top takeaways from Adam Małysz. Throughout the years when we could enjoy watching Adam on our TV screens he has become more than a sports professional, he is now an icon for success, achievement and personal development. There are not many individuals who faced with pressure and expectations, fullfill them. Take politicians or business professionals. The economic crisis demonstrated in the documentary movie „Inside Job” confirms that unfortunately most of the times it is the greed and self-interest that guides human actions. You must have heard terms like „CSR” - Corporate Social Responsibility, Ethics, morals, etc which are all hard to execute.. What is the secret to success then? Passion.

Adam got through the thick and thin thanks to loving what he does. If it wasn't for the true love of the sport, he would be out of the picture sooner then you would notice it. In modern times, when a lot of people turn to coaching, professional development, self-help and other forms of „soul healing”, the answer is strickinglysimple: do the work you are passionate about.

One of the business authors who embraces this fact is Seth Godin, an American marketer, blogger and a successful entrepreneur. His latest digital e-book and project „Poke the Box” is a manifesto, call for action for you to start that dream project or go after that dream job.

Watch Seth's talk about his project here.

If you are still thinking: „No, I will never find work that I am passionate about.” Look, around poke and think about Adam Małysz.

Krzysztof „Chris” Dargiewicz

USEFUL VOCABULARY:

1.  to mark the end of an era- zaznaczyć koniec ery/epoki

2.  to get the top spot - osiągnąć najlepszy rezultat/wynik

3.  to step down - odejść; zrezygnować; przejść na emeryturę

4.  sportsman - sportowiec; atleta

5.  legacy - spuścizna

6.  the big picture -  w szerszej perspektywie

7.  ups and downs - wzloty i upadki

8.   expectations towards - oczekiwania w stosunku do

9.  attitude - podejście; nastawienie

10. to turn someone's back on somebody - odwrócić się; stracić zaufanie do

11.  to get up to speed - dogonić; dorównać

12.  rival - rywal

13.  to regain- odzyskać

14.  perseverance - wytrwałość

15.  stubborness - upartość

16.  takeaway - lekcja; morał

17.  to fulfill the expectations - dorównać oczekiwaniom

18. greed - chciwość; pazerność

19.  self-interest - własny interes

20.  to guide somebody - przewodzić; rządzić kimś

21.  Corpoate Social Responsibility - społeczna odpowiedzialność biznesu

22.  to get through - przejść przez; wytrzymać

23.  the thick and thin - „na dobre i na złe”

24.  to get out of the picture - zniknąć z uwagi/ze sceny

25.  strickingly - uderzająco

26.  to embrace- objąć; wesprzeć

27.  digital - multimedialny

28.  call for action - wezwanie do działania

29.  to go after something - podążać za czymś; dążyć do czegoś

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